The sudden death of Satoru Iwata took the gaming world by surprise in July, with the loss of one of the most beloved figures in gaming keenly felt across the industry. However, it’s time for Nintendo to look to the future once more, as they have announced a new company President today.
Tatsumi Kimishima will be a name that the vast majority of people will be unfamiliar with, but he has been a part of Nintendo since 2000, holding a number of posts during that time. He was head of Nintendo of America prior to Reggie Fils-Aimé, has most recently been in charge of their Human Resources Division, and will now take on the role of President and Representative Director on September 16th.
It feels unlikely that he will fill quite the same role that Satoru Iwata did, as a public figurehead for Nintendo, but at the same time this should free the creative heads of the company to continue to create without the burden of managing a global business. To that end, Genyo Takeda has been given the title of Technology Fellow and Shigeru Miyamoto is now officially a Creative Fellow, as part of a revision of the management structure.
I genuinely cannot think of a better title to bestow upon a man such as Shigeru Miyamoto, even if Nintendo define the newly created Fellow position as “An individual selected from among the Representative Directors who has advanced knowledge and extensive experience, and holds the role of providing advice and guidance regarding organizational operations in a specialized area.”
Kennykazey
I wish him the best of luck. I feel he could make a good leader due to his background in NOA and HR. But it seems like he’s a stop-gap until they can groom a younger person.